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In the hours before the 100th home opener in Maple Leafs history, team president Brendan Shanahan was speaking to a group of the franchise’s legends.

Doug Gilmour and Borje Salming and George Armstrong and Wendel Clark were among the Saturday gathering, as were nearly all of the greatest living Leafs. And unbeknownst to all of them, Shanahan was about to uncap a well-kept secret. The franchise, he told the group, was ending its oft-maligned policy of honouring the numbers of its legends. Minutes later the 16 men who’d had their numbers honoured would have their numbers retired, never to be worn again.

But before the group took their positions on the ice, Shanahan dropped another surprise. Through the door walked Dave Keon, who this week was named history’s greatest Maple Leaf. Raucous applause ensued. Despite Keon’s hallowed status, after all, his No. 14 had never been honoured by the Maple Leafs. For much of the half century since he was named MVP of the 1967 Stanley Cup playoffs, Keon had been estranged from the franchise and an outspoken critic of its number-honouring policy.

But on this night, Shanahan told everyone, Keon’s No. 14 would finally hang from the rafters, rightfully retired.

In the elaborate and moving ceremony that followed, one of hockey’s most egregious wrongs was righted. A feud was officially defused. Tears were liberally shed.

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“I feel very honoured that I’m included,” said Keon.

The surprise announcement amounted to a seismic moment in franchise history that removed a stain of the past and ensured the new Leafs can do their exciting work on a clean slate. And certainly Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Bruins — in which rookie Mitch Marner scored his first NHL goal —only heightened the excitement surrounding a most promising of new beginnings.

The historic disrespect and disregard shown to Leafland’s finest alumni was a blight that needed to be corrected. And even when the Maple Leafs had taken well-intentioned stabs at ceremonial pomp in recent times, they’d often failed abysmally. A few years ago, the club honoured the 50th anniversary of the 1963 Stanley Cup champions — a team no less than Keon called the best Maple Leafs squad ever assembled. But the pre-game ceremony unfolded before row upon row of empty seats and muted applause. The ’63 Leafs deserved better. But the organization seemed incapable of providing it.

It took 100 years, but on Saturday they finally showed some skill in celebrating their history. Fans of the Montreal Canadiens, who have long set the standard for elevating pre-game tributes to religious rites, would probably point out that the Air Canada Centre was relatively quiet as the legends were introduced on Saturday. At the Bell Centre, to be sure, they’ve raised the roof with deafening ovations during equivalent moments.

Blame bad timing, in part; you couldn’t have begrudged folks for keeping one eye on their phones to track a one-run Blue Jays game going in Cleveland simultaneously.

And anyhow, the fans weren’t the show. The reaction of the men of the moment spoke volumes. Darryl Sittler was in tears. Ditto Gilmour and Frank Mahovlich. Johnny Bower was touched enough by the moment that he wrapped his arms around his shoulders as if to hug the adoring throng.

Soon enough the Maple Leafs — who had previously only retired the numbers of Bill Barilko, who died in a plane crash, and Ace Bailey, who suffered a career-ending head injury — unfurled new banners bearing the 13 retired numbers of 19 players. The Canadiens, by way of comparison, have 15 retired numbers representing 18 men.

For Toronto, it only made sense. Only one of the numbers that had previously been honoured was still in circulation. That meant Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk played his first game wearing No. 25 on Saturday, ceding the No. 21 he’d been given when he joined the organization in 2012. Number 21, after all, is now retired for Salming, as it should be.

“It was a no-decision there, in terms of being happy to switch,” van Riemsdyk said. “It’s a nice change. It maybe symbolizes a little bit of a change of things going on around here, too.”

Shanahan said when he came to the organization in the spring of 2014, he began looking into the in-house traditions.

“When you asked questions, people really didn’t have an answer as to why we weren’t (retiring numbers),” Shanahan said. “I like the story of players handing numbers down, honoured numbers and handing them down to another player . . . But I don’t remember Borje handing a sweater to JVR. It wasn’t happening. It’s a great story. But if you’re not doing it, then let’s do the right thing.”

Before Saturday, the wrong thing happened too often over the years in Leafland. The numbers worn by Stanley Cup linchpins were commandeered by marginal pros having their Toronto-based cup of coffee. Keon’s No.14, for instance, had been worn by more than a dozen players since he left the organization, the likes of Jonas Hoglund and Ron Wilson and Matt Stajan given the privilege of donning those famed digits.

Keon called the practice “embarrassing.” Other alumni grumbled about what was seen as a second-class treatment of first-tier greats. It won’t happen again here — not under Shanahan’s watch.

“Honestly, I think (having one’s number retired is) a better honour than going in the Hall of Fame. I really do,” Shanahan said. “Fewer people have their sweaters retired than are in the Hall of Fame.”

As a Hall of Famer whose number has yet to be retired, Shanahan can speak to the subject with some authority. There are 268 players in the hall. About half that many have their numbers retired. Thanks to Shanahan’s deft touch, a deserving group of Maple Leaf greats can finally count themselves among them.

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